Ambitions Fulfilled
by Aquamirra.chan
Summary: She knelt down beside the bundle. He was so pale. His mouth was slightly open and his lips had a tint of blue in them. Sakura gently touched his face. It felt cool. Her arms dropped to her side as she continued to stare at him. Sasukekun? SasSak on hold
1. Return

A/N: Hi!! Finally it's here! The sequel to Revenge vs. Love. I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as you enjoyed the prequel, this is going to be much longer, I can tell you that much. Anyway here's chapter one. Enjoy!!

Note: you dont have to read the prequel to read this...

Sasuke crawled away from Itachi as fast as he could, which wasn't fast at all. He was covered in blood, his blood and Itachi's. His right arm felt like someone was driving sharnicans into to over an over. His head was throbbing and his world was hazed. He was beginning to believe that he would die, just like Itachi. Sasuke glanced behind him and saw that Itachi wasn't moving. He was on his back, with one leg stretched out and he other one was up. His arms were spread out and blood slowly flowed out from him. Sasuke continued to crawl away until he reached the forest, a couple feet behind him. Sasuke scrambled to the closet tree and rested against it. He had no idea on how much more he could take. With his left arm, Sasuke grabbed a kunai that was near him and held it close to him, in case Itachi would attack again. Sasuke looked at the kunai knife and nearly trembled. It was drenched in blood. He couldn't tell if it was Itachi's blood or his.

Sasuke slowly looked over to wear Itachi lay dead. His eyes widened and immediately shivers crawled down his battered back. Every hair on his neck rose. Itachi was no longer in view. All that remained was a pool of blood. Sasuke gripped onto the kunai tighter and frantically searched around. Itachi was still alive and he was going to slaughter him. Sasuke shook vigorously in fear and pained attacked his body. His right arm seemed to catch on fire. It was so painful that Sasuke yelled out. He grabbed his scorching arm and swore as the pain increased. Not only did he give away his position, his little scream basically told Itachi that he was helpless. Helpless. Helpless like all the other Uchiha's that were killed in the massacre.

He waited. He waited for Itachi to come and end it all. Again, Sasuke swore. Why couldn't he defeat Itachi? What was it about him? He could have killed Naruto, who held the Kyuubi. He killed Orochimaru, someone Naruto couldn't even defeat so why? Why was Itachi someone he couldn't defeat?

"I still…don't have enough hatred…" Sasuke whispered.

It couldn't have been true. He'd broken all bonds with everyone, even _her_. He had so many chances to go back to _her_, there were so many chances where he could have kept his promises but, he still avoided the leaf ninjas as much as possible. It's been two long years since he met up with Team 7. He noticed that he was replaced by another shinobi. He had very short black hair and he was very pale. It looked like he didn't show his emotions a lot. For some reason, that shinobi's attitude reminded him of his own. It's been two years since he faced _her_; since he saw _her_ shocked and almost confused face. Two years since he attacked and nearly killed her. It's been two long, miserable, years and he was still chasing after his older brother.

Sasuke rolled on his back and watched the grey clouds slowly blow past him. A single drop of rain hit his cheek. Sasuke looked around, waiting for Itachi to appear and kill him. He brought a hand to his face and wiped away the blood. He looked at his right arm and saw that his bicep was so black, it almost looked like a purplish color. The rest of his arm was so red, he couldn't help but wonder if it would remain like that. Sasuke slowly touched his bicep and immediately wished that he had left it alone. The pain he felt couldn't be described, it was worse than receiving the curse mark Orochimaru gave him. Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip but it was futile, tears ran down his cheek and Sasuke screamed.

He didn't know it was that powerful, if he known, he would have tried to dodge it instead using chidori. If it wasn't for chidori, Sasuke wouldn't be conscious at all. He would have been burned to the point where there wouldn't be anything left.

The rain began to pour harder. It was obvious that Itachi wasn't going to kill him. Why should he decide to kill him now anyway? He let him live the other four times they fought. However, this by far was the worst battle they had. It was never so bloody nor did it involve such high amounts of weapons, chakra, and stamina. This was the closet Sasuke ever got to killing Itachi.

So now what was he going to do? He was hated in every village since he owed them money and always seemed to cause trouble. Konoha didn't want him anymore, they gave up searching for him two years ago. He had nowhere to go. The rain pounded on his face.

Sasuke took deep breaths. The pain was getting to him. Slowly Sasuke pulled himself up to a tree. However, the rain still fell down upon him. Sasuke clenched his eyes shut as the rain hammered down on his scorched arm. Sasuke shook his head and tried to focus on something else beside the pain, but as more rain fell on him, the more his arm throbbed and burned.

Sasuke reached into his pouch to get an explosive tag. He minus well die, after all it's been ten long years since the Uchiha clan was destroyed. He was probably forgotten by now. All people will remember is his deadly brother. There was no need fro him to live anymore. He couldn't kill Itachi, he had no where to go and he no longer had any will in him.

Sasuke touched something hard and cold. Sasuke grabbed hold of it and pulled it out. He was having trouble breathing. His world started to get blurry again. He brought the object his face to see what it was. It was _her_ headband. Sasuke smirked. No telling how much _she_ hated him now._ She_ was probably happily dating someone else. Without thinking, Sasuke pressed his lips against _her_ headband and held onto it even tighter as his arm fell to his side.

"I..." he mumbled as fell unconscious.

* * *

"Iie!" 

"What!! But why? We have to help him-"

"I said no! Take him away!"

"Daddy, if we leave him, he'll die, look at him!"

"I could care less about his condition. After all the trouble he has caused us, I should just-"

"We can't just leave him like this!"

"Take him away!"

"No! I going to help him!"

"You will not, I forbid it!"

"He might have a family! He must have a home! Who are we to take all that away from him-"

"Arian! That's enough! If he had a family, he wouldn't be in this situation. Yes, he did have a home but from the looks of it, he ran away. Based on the things he did to this village, I wouldn't be surprised if his village doesn't want anything to do with him."

"It's...it's not fair!"

"What isn't fair? He chose this path. He knew what the consequences were. This is all on him. We shouldn't be caught up in his affairs."

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. He looked around and saw many lights. He was lying on something soft and something warm was covering him. Once his eyes became accustomed to the light, Sasuke realized that he was in a hospital. Two other people were in the room. They both were staring at him.

"Oh, you're awake!" the young girl smiled as she walked over to where he was.

She looked no older that 17. She had long dark brown hair tied in a ponytail. Her bangs almost covered her blue eyes. Behind the girl was an older man. He looked like he was in his late 40s. He was glaring at Sasuke and his muscular arms were crossed. Sasuke stared back at him. He recognized the man. He was one of the Kazegake's in the many villages he visited.

"How do you feel?" Arian asked him as she placed he hand on his forehead.

"Arian!! Don't touch him!" he yelled.

"Daddy! I'm helping him!"

"You are not." The Kazegake yelled as he pulled his daughter away from Sasuke.

"You, boy, take you things and leave this village! I will spare you only because my daughter here is being stubborn and will most likely intercept the process of your execution. However, if you ever return here, I promise, I'll kill you myself."

Sasuke glared at him. He did not like being threatened at all. He almost activated his sharnigun but, the pain in his arm reminded him of his situation. Sasuke took a deep breath and sat up in the bed. He swung his feet over to the side and stood up. Just as he took the first step, Sasuke's eyes widened as he head began to spin. His world blurred, he staggered around the room. He heard a gasp that seemed to be in slow motion and then he began to fall. He fell into warm arms. He looked up only to see that girl looking down at him and blushing.

"You...can't walk?" She whispered.

Sasuke silently swore and he angrily turned away. Once again, he was feeling helpless. Helpless. He hated it when he felt that way. Arian pulled his left arm over her shoulders an led him back to the bed.

"Father," Arian began. "I'm willing to take him back to his village."

"Iie! End of discussion. I want him out of here by midnight."

"That's in four hours!"

"Exactly."

The Kazegake glared at Sasuke once more then angrily left the room, slamming the door shut.

"Forgive him." Arian whispered. "My father, he's a Kazegake and many problems have risen in our village. He's just really stressed out right now."

Sasuke didn't say anything. Instead he continue to stare at the door.

"I was kind of surprised I found you where you were. My father said that you'd been here before and he banished you from here. I found you not too far from the village. Were you planning on coming back but got intercepted?"

Sasuke didn't respond. He just kept staring at the door. Arian looked at the door, then at him. She smiled. She rested her elbows on the bed and placed her chin in her hands.

"Where do you live?" Arian smiled as she gazed at Sasuke.

"I don't have a home." Sasuke mumbled.

"Everyone has a home. Isn't this from your home?"

Arian reached into her pocket and pulled out _her_ head band. Sasuke looked at it from the corner of his eye, then went back to looking at the door.

"You were holding on to this." Arian smiled. "You had a pretty firm grip too."

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked in a rude manor. Arian looked at him then smiled once more.

"I want to take you to your village."'She replied.

"I don't want to go back."

"What? Why?"

"I don't have to explain."

"You can't stay here. My father won't allow it and based on your condition, you need medical attention. I saw your arm...I've never seen anything like that before. I don't think any of us have."

"...your point?"

"...I'm no medical ninja...but from the looks of your arm...we...it might have to be...amputated."

"I don't-"

Her words registered in his head. Amputate. Sasuke looked at his arm. His bicep was still black. Water had begun to ease out where ever his flesh had a small cuts in it. His arm was throbbing. Sasuke clenched his jaw. If his arm was amputated, that would ruin his chance of killing Itachi. Sasuke swore and glared at Arian.

"There's nothing you can do about it?" Sasuke growled at her.

"N-no...sorry."

Again Sasuke swore. It seemed like he had no choice. He would return only to get his arm healed. Once it was healed, then he'll head out and search for Itachi once more.

"...Do you know where Konoha is?" Sasuke sighed, trying to control his anger.

"Konoha? The village Hidden in the Leaves?" Arian asked.

"Hn."

"Yes? "Hn" meaning yes?"

Sasuke glared at her once again.

"Yeah, I think I know where it is. Wow, that's far. Ok, so let me get ready and we'll head out ok?

Sasuke didn't say anything. Instead he slid into the bed and stared at the ceiling.

* * *

Nine days had past since they left the village. Birds chirped loudly. He heard voices that seemed to be coming from behind him. The air was warm. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. He looked around. The area looked very familiar but he couldn't remember where he had seen it. Sasuke looked around and saw a note on his black cloak. It was from Arian.

_Traveler-san, _

_good luck! I enjoyed traveling with you. _

_Arian_

Sasuke looked behind him and saw he was leaning against a wall. He was near the entrance of Konoha. Sasuke smirked. He was glad to know Arian had dropped him off near the entrance instead if just walk in the village and look for help. Sasuke took a deep breath and began to stand up. He leaned against the wall for support. The medicine was still in effect. It hurt to walk. Sasuke pulled the hood over his head and began walking, trying his best to ignore the pain. As he walked, bits and pieces of his journey to Konoha replayed itself in his mind.

"_Are you ready?"_

_Sasuke looked at Arian. She had a jacket on and big black cloak in her hand. _

"_Here, put this on." She smiled. _

_Sasuke took the cloak and began to take off the remaining tattered pieces of his old one. He pulled off his torn shirt and wrapped the cloak around him. It was difficult considering the fact that he had to do all that with his non-dominate hand. Arian walked towards him and pulled up his sleeve, revealing his burned arm. The hospital room seemed to be filled with the smell of burnt flesh. Arian's eyes were filled with compassion. She took his hand and held it up. _

"_What are you doing!" Sasuke snapped. She was touching him, he didn't like it. _

"_I'm going to wrap your arm." Arian replied as she pulled a roll of bandages._

"_No, leave it alone!" _

"_If we leave it out during our journey, then it'll get infected!" _

"_Don't touch it!"_

"_You have to trust me."_

"_Don't touch me!"_

_Arian looked at him and sighed._

"_I didn't want to this but, it seems like I have no choice."_

_Arian pulled something out of her pouch. She sat on the bed next to Sasuke and leaned toward him. Sasuke began to move away from her. _

"_What are you-ACK!"_

_Arian injected a liquid onto the side of his neck. As she took the needle out of his neck, Sasuke's world became blurry again. He looked at her and called her a mix of colorful language. Arian slightly smiled and Sasuke fell on her shoulder. _

"_It's only because you're so stubborn." Arian whispered._

"_You-"_

_Sasuke wasn't able to finish up his sentence. He couldn't move his body at all. As his eyes began to close, he felt his arm being lifted up. _

_

* * *

_"_What did you give me!" Sasuke demanded when he finally gained the strength to talk. ._

"_Heh...uh...I gave you numbing medicine." Arian laughed nervously. _

"_Why!" _

"_It was the only way to make you cooperate...but I'm starting to wish I never gave it to you." _

"_Hn."_

"_I had no idea you were so heavy. Carrying you is such a drag."_

_Sasuke looked at her and then scowled. _

"_We need to get moving." Sasuke called. _

_Arian nodded and walked over to where he was. She pulled him up on her back and began to sprint. Once again, Sasuke felt a tingling feeling in his body. His eyelids became heavy. _

"_How long does this medicine last..." Sasuke slurred. _

"_...I gave you a lot...so it should last for about a week."_

_Sasuke wanted to curse her out again but as he opened his mouth, his eyes shut and he feel into a deep sleep._

_

* * *

__Sasuke opened his eyes and looked around. Again they were resting. That girl, it seemed like she had no stamina. The longest she could carry him and travel without stopping seemed to be a mere four hours. They were wasting time. Arian rested against the tree opposite from him, silently trying to catch her breath. Sasuke shook his head every time he thought of how weak she was. _

_Arian pulled out her map and studied it. Sasuke looked at the clouds that slowly drifted by. The clouds seemed to be moving faster than they were. Sasuke closed his eyes and wondered why he even agreed to let someone like her take him._

_

* * *

__It was the end of the fifth day. Sasuke had woken up once more, only to see the stars sparkle in the midnight sky. _

"_Are you hungry?" Arian asked. "I can heat you up some food."_

_Sasuke looked at her then nodded. Arian smiled and began to heat up food for the both of them. _

"_My father nearly had a heart attack when he found out I was leaving." Arian spoke. "He tried to stop me, but I already made up my mind. Thinking about it now, I see why he's worried. Here I am, his only daughter, traveling with a young man I don't even know."_

"_I didn't ask you to do this." Sasuke mumbled. _

"_I know, I wanted to take you home. I really don't mind. Oh, the food is ready."_

_Arian stood up and handed the boiled fish to Sasuke. He looked away from her as she sat next to him. Since he was completely numb, the only way he could receive his food was if she fed him. Hating that fact, Sasuke ate as little as possible. _

"_It's nothing to be ashamed of." Arian would laugh as she saw his reluctant expression. "There's nothing you can do."_

_As Arian fed him, she stared at him. Sasuke glanced at her then resumed to looking at the tree. _

"_Ano...Traveler-san, do you have...a girlfriend?" Arian asked as blush appeared on her face._

_Sasuke looked at her.  
_

"_No, why?" He asked. _

"_...it's just that...well it would seem like someone like you would have a girlfriend."_

"_I don't!"_

_Arian nodded. She finished feeding Sasuke his food and walked over to the fire and let out her sleeping bag. She let out his and waved. Sasuke merely looked at her before he went back to staring at the starry sky. That night, the stars seemed to form a cherry blossom. _

_

* * *

_Sasuke stopped. He was out of breath, but he had finally reached an unguarded entrance that led into the leaf village. There was one way to sneak into Konoha. Only those who really knew Konoha knew about it. As Sasuke reached it, he made sure there there wasn't anybody around. There were bushes all around the wall. One of the bushed covered a whole that was big enough to crawl through. Sasuke got on all fours and crawled into Konoha. Once he was in, he stood on all fours, trying to catch his breath. Slowly he stood up and looked around. It was an empty field. Sasuke began walking. It's been four years since he's been to Konoha. It seemed like nothing had changed. Sasuke nearly smirked. Of course nothing had change. What was there to change? Sasuke walked up to the end of the field and looked at the buildings. He could walk in the streets, try to blend in with everyone else, but he was at risk for being caught. However, he didn't the energy to jump from building to building. Sasuke nearly growled, but began walking in one of the many busy streets if Konoha. 

He hoped that _she_ didn't move. If _she_ did, that meant that he had no other choice but to go to the hospital. There he would be healed but also captured and forced to pay for all of his crimes. Finally, he reached _her _apartment. He walked toward it. As he headed toward the stairs he heard someone call his name. Sasuke swore and made a hand sign with his left hand. He heard his name again. The voice sounded confused this time. Sasuke didn't move. He didn't turn to see who had called him.

"Kai." Sasuke muttered when he thought it was safe.

Sasuke continued up the stairs until he had reached _her _floor. The wind blew in his face, causing his hair to blow in his face. As Sasuke stumbled toward _her _door, Sasuke realized how tired he was. All he wanted was to lie down and fall asleep. _Her_ door seemed so far away. Finally he reached it. Sasuke firmly knocked on it. There was no answer. Sasuke knocked on it again. Still no answer. He didn't hear any foot steps nor did he sense anyone. Sasuke eyes widened as he leaned against the wall of _her_ apartment. _She _could be anywhere. _She _could have moved, _she_ could have been on a mission. Sasuke swore at _her_ as his feet gave away. He fell sitting down. His world was spinning out of control. His arm ached and burned. The clear blue sky was filled with dark bouncing colors. Sasuke swayed and fell onto the ground. His hood fell off and his black hair covered most of his face. Sasuke reached into his his cloak and pulled out _her _headband. He held it firmly and stared out into to the village though the gates of the deck.

"...Sakura..." Sasuke whispered as he slowly faded into the darkness once more.

* * *

It was another long day at the hospital. Sakura yawed and stretched her arms. She wanted to go home, eat and sleep. Sakura smiled, it was going to be ramen for dinner, a nice long bath, maybe with bubbles then a good night sleep. Sakura smiled and began to walk up the stairs that led to her deck.

At that moment, and unfamiliar scent caught her attention. It smelled like something was raw, but it wasn't strong. Sakura picked up her pace and stopped when she saw a big black bundle. Sakura cautiously walked up to it. She froze as she saw a foot. She knelt down beside the bundle and saw his face. Sakura stared at him as she slowly moved his black hair from his face. He was so pale. His mouth was slightly open and his lips had a tint of blue in them. Sakura gently touched his face. It felt cool. Her arms dropped to her side as she continued to stare at him.

"...Sasuke-kun?"

_TBC_

* * *

A/N: Ok, that's chapter one. Yeah, once again I cheated. Ok so I was supposed to be researching Sai...and I realized that the manga for Naruto Shippuden seemed to be coming go a close. So i went on youtube and read from chapter 355 to 367. However, I'm only one episode 26 in the anime. So yeah, wow I discovered a lot. I'm disappointed at the fact it's going to take awhile before the anime catches up to the manga, sigh. Anyway, I know what happens and...now, since I'm writing this FF, I can't help but think how wrong this is. Oh well, this is just a FF. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter!! 


	2. Greetings

A/N: Moving on, thanks for reviewing. So SO sorry for taking ages to update!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...Itachi needs medical attention...but I still love him...unfortunately...

* * *

Something warm covered his entire body. His world seemed to be filled with the smell of soup. Sasuke blinked his eyes. He was in an unfamiliar room. The dark green curtains and the doors were closed. Sasuke sat up and held his head. There was a bandage on it.

"Where am I?" Sasuke whispered.

He looked at his right arm and saw that there was a new bandage on it. The old one was bloody and it had started to smell. Sasuke looked around the room. It was just like every other average room. Sasuke turned his attention to the door. There was a small knock. Sasuke stared at the door.

"Sasuke?"

"Come in." Sasuke called.

She slowly entered with a tray. Once again, she had grown her hair long. Her pink hair fell past her shoulders and lingered down to the middle of her back. Slowly, she turned around and faced him.

"Sakura," Sasuke mumbled.

"Sasuke." Sakura mumbled back.

She made her way toward him and sat on the side of the bed. She placed the tray on his lap.

"It's miso soup." Sakura replied as she gave him a spoon. "Do...do you need help?"

"No." Sasuke scowled. He was tired of being fed by someone else.

Sakura nodded and stood up.

"...call me when you're done." She replied as she headed towards the door.

As she closed the door, Sasuke couldn't help but think of how empty their reunion was. He was kind of surprised that she didn't run to him and hug him. She showed no sigh of happiness. In fact, she seemed, unemotional. Sasuke scowled and looked at the miso soup. Steam rose from the bowl and into his face. It smell delicious. Sasuke picked up the spoon and took a small sip of the soup. It was tasty. Sasuke closed his eyes to really enjoy the taste. It's been so long, so long since he had good food. Sasuke took another spoonful and brought to his mouth. Suddenly, his right arm throbbed in pain. He wasn't expectantly and he jerked. He held onto his right arm and took deeps breaths. At that moment, his cheeks, chest and thighs burned. Sasuke swore out loud. The miso soup had splashed on him. Sasuke looked at his hands that were covered in soup. His wrists were wrapped in bandages as well. He heard footsteps on the other side of the door, but Sasuke continued to stare at his hands.

"It's soup..." he whispered as he continued to stare at his hands. "It just...blood? No soup, it's soup."

As he continued to stare at his hands, the soup seemed to be changing colors. It went from light brown, to dark brown, to a dark red, to crimson red, the same color as blood. Sasuke's eyes widened as the room was filled with the smell of blood. He heard cries. He heard people screaming.

"Stop it!" Sasuke yelled as he held his aching head.

"Sasuke?!"

"NO! Stop it STOP!"

He was no longer in the room. He was in his village. The streets were filled with happy people. The Uchiha clan, they were all going about their daily business. Sasuke looked up, there was one person crouched down on a pole. There was a long sword behind him. He seemed to be waiting. Suddenly, he opened his eyes. Red murderous eyes stared down at the Uchihas'. Sasuke's eyes widened as the person reached into his pouch.

"No...no...DON'T KILL THEM!"

"Sasuke-kun!!"

Sasuke's eyes flew open. He was covered in sweat and he was lying down on the bed. Sasuke took deep breaths and sat back up.

"...what happened." Sasuke asked as he looked at his hands. They were clean.

"I don't know." Sakura whispered. "I heard you swearing, so I came into the room to see if you were ok. You were fine at first, you were just staring at you hands. I noticed you spilled your soup so I went over to you to clean it. Then...you started screaming. You fell on your pillow and..."

Sasuke nodded.

"It's been a long week," Sasuke murmured.

Sasuke looked at his right arm. It was bleeding again. Sakura removed the bandages covering Sasuke's forehead, neck and chest. She walked over to the other side of the bed and stared at the bloody arm. She took a deep breath and began to remove the bandages. Although Sasuke managed to keep a straight face, he was screaming and cursing her out on the inside. Sakura dropped the bandages on the tray filled with cloths and other bandages.

"I'll be right back." Sakura called as she picked up the tray and left the room.

Agonizing pain attacked his arm. Sasuke took silent deep breaths. He didn't want her to know how much pain he was in. He refused to look at his arm. Just looking at it seemed to cause it to throb. A couple minutes later, Sakura returned to the room a couple minutes later. Her arms were filled with rolls of bandages. Sakura sat next to him and put the bandages down. She stared at his scorched and tattered arm.

"Can you heal it?" Sasuke asked.

"...I don't know." Sakura replied as she looked away from him. "It's severely burned. It's possibly the worst burn I've ever seen. I don't know how much muscle has been damaged and I don't know how long it's been like that."

"...I received it...less than two weeks ago."

"Two weeks!"

"Less!"

"Sasuke...it...we might have to-"

"NO!"

Sakura stared at Sasuke. His left hand was clenched and shook in what she thought was anger. He glared at the door.

"Sakura," Sasuke spoke as he tried to control his anger. "I need you to heal it. I know you can do it."

"Sasuke..." Sakura whispered as she faced his arm. "...how did you get burned like this."

She gently touched his bicep and Sasuke flinched away from her violently. Sasuke shut he eyes and growled as aching pain spread all around his arm and shoulder.

"...I was fighting Itachi." Sasuke answered.

Sakura nodded and placed her hands near his arm.

"Don't touch it!" Sasuke snapped.

"Sasuke, relax, I'm going to try my best and heal it." Sakura replied as green chakra flowed from he hands.

Immediately, all the pain he was feeling in his arm had begun to cease. His arm felt warm, like it was dipped in luke warm water. It felt good, really good. Sasuke closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth on his burned skin. The chakra seemed too flow from his arm to his shoulder, his neck and his chest. Soon the whole upper right side of his body seemed to have a warm and relaxing feeling to it.

"There's no need to be tense," Sakura whispered. "Just relax."

Sasuke nodded and concentrated on the warm feeling that traveled up and down his arm. After a while, the warm feeling suddenly stopped flowing throughout his arm. Pain followed. His arm didn't throb like it did before but it was still sore. Sasuke frowned, the warm feeling, the soothing sensation he got from the green chakra, it was gone.

"Don't stop," Sasuke whispered before he could stop himself.

"Sorry...Sasuke..." Sakura mumbled. "I had... a long day at...the hospital. I had to...heal a lot of people today. Also...I healed you for about...I don't know...maybe two and half hours..."

Sasuke looked at Sakura. She was holding her knees firmly and she was taking deep breaths. Her eyelids looked heavy and her eyes looked almost blank. She looked exhausted. Sasuke nodded and lowered himself down on the bed. Once he rested on the pillow Sakura looked at him.

"You're dinner," she whispered. "Do you want me to fix you another bowl?"

"Iie, I'm fine." Sasuke replied and he closed his eyes. "Go to bed."

"Heh, I would but, I'm concerned about your arm. I was going to reread the sections in one of my medicine books that deal with severe burns. The longer, it remains like that, the harder it will heal."

Sakura got up and stretched.

"Good night, Sasuke." She called.

"Hn,"

It was when she turned off all the lights and shut the door when he realized something. Sakura, she no longer added the prefix at the end of his name. No, he didn't really miss it but he felt distanced from her in a way. Sasuke stared into the darkness, wondering why Sakura had stopped calling him "Sasuke-kun." Sasuke smirked. It's because the way he treated her. Five years ago, when they were only thirteen, Sakura tried to stop him from leaving the village. She told him that she loved him and begged him to stay. He answered her by knocking her out and leaving her on a bench. Two years later, they fought Itachi together. They were defeated and he led Sakura on. He told her he'd come back, he'd would marry her and she would be his wife. He told her that she would help him restore his clan. One year later, they met in Orochimaru's hideout. Again, she tried to get him back, he answered her by attacking her and the rest of her teammates. No, he didn't forget his promise. Instead, he ignored it. Killing Itachi was more important than restoring the clan. If he restored the clan and Itachi was still alive, what would stop him from massacring his family again? Now here he lay, in what looked like her bed. He came back only to get his arm healed. The plan was to get his arm healed then search for Itachi yet again. Sasuke sighed. Exhaustion was starting to take over. Once again, he would break Sakura's heart. However, sacrifices have to be made. Itachi, he had to die. That comes first. Nothing else can come in the way. Sasuke closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.

* * *

He heard something bump into the wall. Voices echoed throughout the room. One was Sakura's and the other belonged to someone he didn't recognize. They continued to make noise and bump into things. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. Whatever they were doing, they needed to stop.

"I want to take you out."

His voice sounded somewhat familiar.

"I don't know, Sai. I mean, it's really been a long day. How about…tomorrow."

Sakura.

"…I have to go on another mission tomorrow," he replied.

"…but you just came back today!" Sakura cried.

"I'm sorry."

"Sai!"

"Can I take you out tonight?"

"…yeah. Let me just get ready."

"I'll wait outside."

He heard her walked inside the apartment and into her room. Sasuke, lifted his eyebrow as she stared at him.

"How are you feeling?" she whispered.

Sasuke shrugged.

"…I want to go out but…I don't-"

"Go ahead." Sasuke scowled.

"Are you going to be ok?"

"Just go."

Sakura nodded and left. He heard Sakura giggle and they left. He didn't feel anything. Not even a twinge of jealousy. Sasuke yawned and stared at the ceiling. It was nothing to be surprised about. Of course Sakura wouldn't wait for him. She would be wasting her time. He didn't even want to come back. In a way, he was glad she was dating someone else. It made things less awkward. Beside, he couldn't keep his promise. He promised he would come back and take her as his wife but…that was all in the past. Now, he didn't want a wife. He just wanted to kill Itachi. That's all he wanted.

Sasuke clenched his eyes as he arm throbbed in pain. Maybe he should stay. Maybe he should start a family. No, it was too much trouble. Itachi was still out there. He had kill him first.

Sasuke felt his eyes grow heavy. He didn't want to fall asleep yet. Why was he so weak? It drove him crazy. His vision blurred. He took deep breaths and slowly fell into unconscious.

* * *

Sasuke woke up to Sakura to cries.

"Sakura? Did I…hurt you?"

"No…it's not you…how long are you going to be-"

"uh…about a month. Will you stay with me tonight?"

"I'm sorry Sai…I can't."

"…I see. Will you at least see me out."

"Of course."

"…so uh, I see you tomorrow at dawn then…"

"…ok…"

Silence. Sasuke rubbed his eyes and listened to Sakura walk in the apartment. She was upset about something. Again, Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. She could have been a little quieter. Sakura stood outside her room for a couple seconds before she entered. All signs of her sadness vanished. She looked completely fine. Sakura walked up to Sasuke and pulled the covers down to his torso to reveal his arm. Sasuke turned his head to look at her and Sakura slightly jumped.

"I didn't know you were awake." Sakura sighed. "How's your arm."

"It feels the same," Sasuke muttered.

He was feeling irritated.

"...is there anything you need?" Sakura asked.

"…no." Sasuke snapped.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I didn't think you would come back…I…we tried Sasuke….we tried but you would try to…"

"Go to sleep Sakura."

"I'm not tired…does anyone know you're here?"

"No, and we're going to keep it like that."

"…you're leaving again?"

Sasuke didn't look at her. Sakura inhaled sharply and held her head. A couple tears rolled out her eyes. Sasuke regarded her coldly. He was get aggravated.

"Then why did you come back?" Sakura asked. More tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I needed you to heal my arm." Sasuke answered. Sakura's eyes widened.

"That's it? That's the only reason?"

"Hn."

"Why did you come here then? Why didn't you get someone else to do it?! You could have gotten your teammates or-"

"I'm on my own."

"Well, that's not my problem!"

"Will you just heal-"

"NO! Do you have any idea on what you're doing to me? I can't do this! It's…Sasuke, why don't you see it!"

"All I see is you crying like a little girl."

Sakura glared at him.

"I see nothing has changed at all." Sasuke snorted.

He shouldn't have said that. He was in no position to insult her like that. It was just…he was feeling so irritated and annoyed. She was the closet target! She shouldn't have gotten him upset.

"…I'm going to sleep over at Sai's house." Sakura muttered. "I probably won't be back here until the evening. I'll cook you something and leave it in the refrigerator. Just…don't move your arm a lot."

Sakura stood up and wiped away her crystal tears. She glared at Sasuke with sharp emerald eyes. she walked toward the door then paused.

"…or maybe I should turn you in." Sakura whispered.

"You wouldn't." Sasuke simply replied.

"Why? Why should I deal with your arrogance and keep you here?"

"You wouldn't turn me in."

"…you shouldn't be so sure of yourself."

"If you turn me in, I'll never forgive you."

"Why should I care? Sasuke…I've given up. I told you, I can't do this."

"Good night Sakura."

Sakura glared at him and slammed the door shut. He heard her exit the apartment. Sasuke stared at the ceiling and sighed. No, she wasn't going to turn him in, she couldn't. She loved him too much to do that. He knew Sakura too well. She would do anything for him. That's another reason why he came back. She was the easiest person to manipulate.

Sasuke smirked and rolled on his side. Looks like he hasn't changed either. He was still the cold-hearted stoic Uchiha. Fine, he'll loosen up a bit. As a reward, he'll give Sakura a nice kiss. Then he could leave Konoha peacefully.

* * *

A/N: SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE!! Please forgive me. Also, I hope the characters aren't occ. Hopefully, I kept them in character. Also, NO, I don't like Sakura and Sai as a couple, I chose them because I wasn't sure who to choose and Sai reminds me a little bit of Sasuke except for the fact he loves to show off his stomach…O.O, lol. Ok, bye!! Hope you enjoyed it.

Ps: good news!! Chapter 3 is halfway done!!


End file.
